Jerry Bickel Chassis Fabrication
The Racetech books are a little dated. They cover the way Firebirds were built in the late 90's. A lot of things have changed since then.
The good news is that JBRC will be releasing 2 new books on chassis fabrication in February of 2013. Volume 1 covers the tube chassis fabrication from start to finish. It is 144 pages with 350 photos. Volume 2 covers mounting a carbon fiber body and complete interior, including tubs, doors, trunk kit, windows, etc. with over 850 photos. It's the most comprehensive coverage of race car construction ever done.
The books are titled "Jerry Bickel's Complete Guide to Pro Chassis Construction". Volume 1 - Tube Chassis Fabrication and Volume 2 - Body & Interior.
Volume 1 starts with a bare chassis table and builds the floor tube by tube. Then the carbon fiber 2013 Camaro body is set in place over the floor, and he shows how to fit the main hoop, window bars and dash bar. Then the body comes off. The 4-link brackets are installed, and all of the other bars are added in one at a time, until by the end of the book, the tube chassis is complete and ready for the body to be attached.
Volume 2 takes the tube chassis from Volume 1 and they build a complete interior for the car including floors, firewall and tunnel. They refit the body, then hang the doors, including fitting the hinges, door handles and lock mechanisms and latches. They complete the windows and the windshield. They fit the front end, then fit the carbon fiber wheel tubs and trunk kit. They plumb the brake lines and fire lines. They install the wing, spill plates and wicker. Finally, they go over how to fit the scoop to the engine and the body.
At the end of Volume 2 the car is ready to go to the body shop for paint.
The books are going to be priced at $150 for the set, which is a bargain price. There are so many tips and tricks that will save you hours and hours and prevent you from ruining your raw materials that the payback is a no brainer.
The way they fit the tubes to the body at the beginning of Volume 1 is the same way you would fit the tubes to any composite body, not just the Camaro. It's just that he used a Camaro for this example. He's building a Pro Mod Mustang right now using the exact same techniques covered in the books.
Check for the ad launch in National Dragster early in 2013, or on Bickel's website, or call them to get notified when they are available. I think Bickel has a distributor in Australia for people in that part of the world.